Britain's oldest casino today hit back at claims it had welched on a £7.7 million payout by accusing a top gambler of cheating by “reading” the backs of the cards.

Mayfair club Crockfords says professional poker player Phil Ivey, dubbed "the Tiger Woods of poker," cheated playing punto banco - a form of bacarrat favoured by James Bond.

He is said to have pulled off the scam in four sessions over the August Bank Holiday weekend last year.

In one of the biggest legal battle in casino history, the 185-year-old casino is fighting a legal demand by Mr Ivey that it should pay out.

The 37-year-old from Las Vegas insists he won fair and square and that the casino should honour its commitment.

But in legal papers lodged at the High Court, Crockfords claimed Mr Ivey had spotted asymmetrical designs on the back of cards caused by cutting errors.

It says he then used "superstition" to stack the cards in the pack to press home his advantage and bet increasing amounts over two days.

The casino owned by Genting, a Malaysian gaming corporation, said once Mr Ivey and his companion Ms Cheung Sun began the scam it "deprived the game of its essential character" of chance.

This constituted "cheating for the purposes of the Gambling Act 2005 and amounted to fraud at common law."

President and CEO Peter Brooks in a defence statement said Mr Ivey "purported to win a total of £7,711,485."

The first two sessions lasted approximately 53 minutes and half an hour where average bets ranged from £8,000 to £25,000.

But once the design flaws had been spotted at the start of the third session he spent seven-and-a-half-hours and a further three and three quarter hours increasing average bets from £46,000 to £150,000.

The alleged scam only came to an end when Mr Ivey was told the cards would be replaced with new ones and the pair left.

The casino said Mr Ivey and Ms Sun had specifically asked for an Asian dealer.

It alleges that Ms Sun who spoke Cantonese wanted to "establish a good rapport" while Mr Ivey asked for the manager to leave calling his presence bad luck.

In fact this move was allegedly intended "to create an atmosphere in which the scam could work effectively but look innocent."

Despite telling the casino he had intended to gamble for about a week, Mr Ivey rang the following day to say that his uncle had died suddenly and he had to return to the US.

Two hours after he had requested the money be transferred to his US bank account, the casino began to suspect the game had been "compromised" and launched an investigation.

It repaid Mr Ivey's stake of £1 million but refused to honour the bets.

Mr Ivey said: "I have taken the moral high ground and will continue to do so; however, when Crockfords alleges wrongdoing in the manner they have, then enough is enough. I have been aware of Crockfords' position and their allegations relating to my play since before Court proceedings were issued. The fact that I have issued a lawsuit in the face of what they are alleging says everything about how comfortable I am with my conduct and the validity of my win. Any allegations of wrongdoing by Crockfords are denied by me in the very strongest of terms."